Quiet Waters Poem by Lee John Siebritz

Memories of happy times
Flood my head
As the boat rocks on and on…

Kids are laughing
Kids are smiling
Enjoying the blue skies
As the wind angrily
Blows the waves against the boat.

A moment of stillness fills my mind
As I think of Cape Town
My birthplace, my home, my life.

I can’t help but feel sad
As flashbacks of the past
Pop into my mind.

Watching these kids being happy
Makes me feel sad
As it takes me back
When that was once in my life.

I am happy where I am
I am happy in my soul
But the little boy’s life
Was cut off so soon.

Nights of terror.
Nights of the unknown
That little child
Had to mature quickly
Or die young.

The boats jerks
Kids plague me for a picture.
I smile though the pain
I smile through the heartache

They are happy
I am sad
I wish I could be like them
But that time has passed me by.

As we pass the
Last turn off
I feel a sense of peace.
Maybe it is my late grandmother
Speaking to me.

“Forget the past”
“Move on with your life”
“So that you can be happy”

I have to follow the star in my heart
For years its light has faded
Over the years it has dimmed
I hope it returns for me to move on…

Again, the boat jerks
My stomach turns
I feel my inside trying to come up.

But soon we arrive at our destiny.
I say goodbye to the mountains
To the trees
I am thankful to God that
I have lived another day.

And so my journey continues…